Caldas da Rainha, Portugal, Oct. 29, 2024 (Lusa) - According to a study released on Tuesday, the Portuguese leg of the World Surf League (WSL) main circuit, held in Peniche, and the giant wave event in Nazaré produced revenues of over €23 million in 2024.
The event that brings together the world's surfing elite at Supertubos beach, which took place between 6 and 16 March, generated more than €20 million, while the giant wave championship, held at Praia do Norte on 22 January, generated revenues of more than €3 million, according to the study of the socio-economic impact of these two WSL events in Portugal, drawn up by Diogo Melo, a master's student at ISEG, Lisbon School of Economics & Management.
The ‘lion's share’ of the revenues are related to the consumption of goods and services during the stays to watch the events, with spectators in Peniche spending €13.3 million and fans in Nazaré €1.7 million (in a single day).
In Peniche, accommodation generated €4.5 million, transport €2.5 million and food €2.8 million, while €3.5 million came from other sectors of activity, totalling €13.3 million.
In Nazaré, transport generated €671,000, food €592,000, accommodation €567,000 and others €601,000, totalling €1.7 million.
The costs of organising the races were € 3.5 million for the Peniche stage and € 800,000 for the Nazaré stage €.
According to the study presented today at the headquarters of the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste (West Intermunicipal Community), which was attended by various officials, including the Secretary of State for Tourism, Pedro Machado, the direct impact (turnover) in Peniche was €16.5 million. To this must be added €3.4 million in indirect and induced impact, totalling over €20 million.
For the Nazaré championship, the calculated direct impact was €2.5 million, and the indirect and induced impact was €520,000, totalling over €3 million.
In both cases, the amount spent by the event's sponsors was not considered, nor were the economic impacts related to image as a result of media exposure (written media, radio, television and internet).
Concerning the last item, the study points to 46 million euros related to the Peniche event and almost nine million euros related to the Nazaré event.
The estimated tax revenue generated by the events was €6 million in Peniche and €900,000 in Nazaré.
Of these amounts, the direct tax revenue generated by the events was €595,000 in Peniche (€320,000 from VAT on operating costs and €275,000 from withholding tax on prizes), and €110,100 in Nazaré (€85,100 from VAT on operating costs and €25,000 from withholding tax on prizes).
The number of spectators at both events was also released, totalling around €120,000 at Supertubos (an accumulation of €1.4 million since 2009) and €25,000 at Praia do Norte (€150,000 since 2017).
In Peniche, 36.5% of visitors were foreigners, while the percentage rose to 69.5% in Nazaré.
Regarding foreign visitors' origin, Brazilians led the way in both events, followed by Germans, Spaniards, French, and Americans in Peniche, and Americans, Spaniards, French and Poles in Nazaré.
England, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy and Canada are also among the countries of origin of many visitors.
The study, for which the WSL is responsible for collecting and processing the data, and which is based on 1,500 questionnaires, a sample error of 3% and a confidence level of 95%, shows that the majority of spectators are between 18 and 44 years old and that 94% have an academic degree.
DN/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
